Masonry boss told to get ‘muscle’
September testimony finally made public
More than a month after it was delivered behind closed doors, The Gazette can now report new portions of testimony heard at the Charbonneau Commission in midSeptember.
The unprecedented “blackout” at the inquiry, which began on Sept. 9 and lasted nearly two weeks, was put in place by Justice France Charbonneau to protect the right to a fair trial of the people accused in connection with several Sûreté du Québec investigations into organized crime. The publication ban affecting Operation Hegemonie was lifted about two weeks ago after a guilty plea from the last remaining suspect. But testimony related to another major investigation, dubbed Operation Diligence, remained sealed until Wednesday afternoon, when Charbonneau approved the release of certain portions of the transcripts that will not taint a jury.
Here is some of what The Gazette can report for the first time:
Operation Diligence launched in 2007 and targeted members of the Hells Angels biker gang who were alleged to have been using threats and extortion in an attempt to gain control of companies linked to Quebec’s masonry industry. One of the SQ’s key witnesses in the investigation was Paul Sauvé, owner of masonry company L.M. Sauvé.
On Sept. 11 and Sept. 12, SQ officer Michel Patenaude told the Charbonneau Commission that, in 2003, Sauvé approached the National Bank looking for financing to help expand his business. But bank employee Lévis Doucet allegedly told Sauvé that he didn’t qualify, then referred him to the province’s largest union investment fund — the Fonds de solidarité FTQ — to ask for financing.
“I don’t know if that’s normal,” Patenaude said of the referral. “I don’t know if that’s what’s usually done.”
Despite several attempts to approach the investment fund in the 2000s, Sauvé came up emptyhanded. On Sept. 16 and Sept. 17, the entrepreneur himself took the stand, testifying that he was told by several people that he couldn’t get access to the Fonds because “you’re not part of the gang.” Sauvé said he took “the gang” to mean the FTQConstruction union.
“My instincts, with a bit of hindsight, were that (the Fonds) was a organization that was well-protected and that was at the disposal of certain specific actors.”
Asked who those actors were, Sauvé testified that companies owned by former construction magnate Tony Accurso were “protected” and favoured at the highest levels within the investment fund.
Sauvé also alleged that Quebec’s masonry industry was rife with collusion in the 2000s and that the association representing masonry companies in Quebec (La Corporation des entrepreneurs en maçonnerie du Québec) served as a meeting place for business owners who wanted to divvy up the market and inflate profit margins.
Soon after his father handed him the reins of L.M. Sauvé, the witness said, he was approached by a local entrepreneur (who cannot be named). That man allegedly proposed that they fix their bids and share upcoming contracts. Sauvé said he had no interest in the scheme, but as he sat discussing the matter with his competitor at a Montreal restaurant, he noticed three men seated at a table nearby. They were identified as Guiseppe (Joe) Borsellino of Garnier Construction, another local entrepreneur named Carlo Bizzotto and National Bank vice-president Tony Meti.
“The National Bank represented, if my numbers are right, almost 60 per cent or 70 per cent of the (construction) entrepreneurs in the Montreal region,” Sauvé testified.
The witness said he was particularly surprised to see Borsellino at Meti’s table, and even more shocked when the construction boss came over and sat next to him.
“It made me nervous ... all of a sudden this guy is at my table ... with all his panache,” he said. “There are no coincidences.”
Asked why he was nervous, Sauvé explained that Borsellino “represented a certain violence” and that his company had “a reputation ... a black cloud.” Pressed further, he finally admitted that he believed Borsellino had ties to the mob.
Sauvé said his refusal to adhere to a “sacred” (and inflated) profit margin of 35 per cent led another employee of the National Bank, identified as Patrick Turmel, to “pass the message” on to him that other masonry companies were not happy with L.M. Sauvé.
In a statement Wednesday night, the National Bank said its security service met with Turmel earlier in the day, and it appears Sauvé’s testimony does not at all match Turmel’s version of events. Bank spokesperson Claude Breton said Turmel is prepared to submit to a polygraph test to dispel any doubts about Sauvé’s testimony. The bank is co-operating on a continuing basis with police forces and investigators, the statement said.
Around the same period, Sauvé said, he was told by his new accountant (Denis Ringuette) that he needed “muscle” to force his way into the industry, and that he should go see a man known only as Marc the Welder. Sauvé allegedly paid Marc $2,000 to $5,000 a month to “bring someone else into the company.” Within a few months, organized crime in the form of the Hells Angels biker gang had begun infiltrating Sauve’s company.
Police allege that a high-ranking Hells member, Normand “Casper” Ouimet, was behind the takeover. He is now facing several charges.